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There are still plenty of matches left on the regular-season schedule, but the playoff race is heating up.

Two teams at or near the cut-off point for the MLS postseason will go toe-to-toe when Sporting Kansas City host Austin FC on Saturday night in Kansas City, Kan.

With a victory, Sporting KC (4-8-5, 17 points) would move ahead of Austin (5-7-4, 19 points) and likely above the red line in the Western Conference. An Austin victory puts some space between the two clubs.

SKC extended their unbeaten streak to three games (2-0-1) with a 1-1 draw last Saturday in Vancouver, leaving Kansas City 4-1-2 in its last seven matches. It was SKC’s third game in seven days.

SKC led Vancouver most of the match on a goal by Alan Pulido in the 20th minute before a late penalty in the box resulted in a PK by Vancouver’s Ryan Gauld.

“When you have these three games in (seven) days (and) when you have to go on the road for the third one, it’s always the most difficult game just because of everything, the accumulation,” SKC coach Peter Vermes said. “I think the guys battled, and they really didn’t give much away.”

Austin is on a bid of a skid, having lost two of its last three matches (1-2-0). The most recent setback came at home against Real Salt Lake last weekend. Rubio Rubin put RSL on the board in the 15th minute and then recorded a brace in the 81st. Julio Cascante scored in stoppage time for Austin to avert the shutout.

“Obviously (it was) a difficult and frustrating night for us,” Austin coach Josh Wolff said following the 2-1 loss. “I think there were opportunities for us to make more of that game and possibly push the result the other direction.”

The two sides are about as even as their overall records indicate. They are separated by one goal (17 to 16 in favor of Austin) and one goal allowed (24 for SKC, 23 for Austin), and they even have exactly the same number of fouls committed this season (161).

–Field Level Media

The Seattle Sounders have demonstrated the ability to string together offensive sequences. That puts another area of concern on a growing list for Charlotte FC.

Neither team has been on much of a recent roll going into Saturday night’s meeting in Charlotte.

Seattle (8-6-3, 27 points) is 1-3-1 in its last five games. The Sounders have threatened offensively, but an inability to finish has been one of the glitches.

“Someone is going to start scoring,” Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer said. “We have too many good players not to.”

Charlotte (6-8-3, 21 points) has lost three of its last four matches, including setbacks in its last two outings by a combined score of 5-2 vs. the Philadelphia Union and Columbus Crew.

Keeping the Sounders out of rhythm is a priority for Charlotte coach Christian Lattanzio, whose team has surrendered a league-high 30 goals this season.

“The important thing is to put Seattle under pressure,” Lattanzio said. “If you leave them to dictate the game, it’s going to be more difficult to limit them.”

Lattanzio said the mentality of his players is improving even if sometimes the results aren’t matching that. Karol Swiderski has scored in two of the last three games for Charlotte.

“He has the ability to find the goal and to be sharp around the box,” Lattanzio said. “Having Karol in good shape is important to us. There is no getting away from that.”

Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina is still trying to find a rhythm with the new schemes after missing the first couple of months of the season.

“I need to find my form,” Kahlina said.

With that, Charlotte might benefit from a full week off since its last game. Combined with U.S. Open Cup games, Charlotte played nine times in less than a month’s span.

“It’s good that we have the whole week for the train,” Kahlina said. “It’s nice to have the rest and just to train.”

Seattle is eligible to have defender Alex Roldan back after his one-game suspension for yellow-card accumulation. Schmetzer said that forward Jordan Morris (groin) is cleared to play after going through practices this week.

This marks the only scheduled meeting of the season between Seattle and Charlotte. The Sounders won 2-1 last year when they met.

–Field Level Media

The Colorado Rapids head east to take on Orlando City SC in an interconference matchup Saturday night.

Colorado (2-8-7, 13 points) sits second from the bottom in the Western Conference after a goalless draw at home against the San Jose Earthquakes on June 3. Goalkeeper Marko Ilic made his first start at home and was part of a rock-solid defensive effort by the Rapids despite playing the majority of the second half down a man.

“His alertness tonight was good,” coach Robin Fraser said of Ilic. “The ball that gets played through late in the second half, and he was quick to get to that. I thought he had a solid performance, and it was important for us, certainly, given how the game went.”

It was important because Colorado has given up 25 goals this season, third-most in the West. With the offense scoring only 14 goals, second-worst in the conference, it’s easy to see why the Rapids sit in 13th place in the West.

Colorado has not had an attacker step up the way Ilic did on Wednesday night. The Rapids have four players tied for the team lead with just two goals apiece.

Darren Yapi will be back with the Rapids after recovering from an injury and will be available to play Saturday. He has yet to find the back of the net in MLS play, but he has already seen 550 minutes this season despite the injury, the most playing time of his career to date.

Orlando (6-4-5, 23 points) sits in eighth place in the Eastern Conference after defeating the New York Red Bulls 3-0 on June 3. Facundo Torres paced the Lions with two goals in the second half, including a penalty kick, while Ivan Angulo opened the scoring in the first half and added an assist on Torres’ second goal.

“We had a very complete game,” coach Oscar Pareja said. “We scored goals and kept their goals at zero. New York is a team that never gave up, and we maintained our discipline, we did not relax.”

Torres had only two goals and two assists through the first 13 games, but with his first MLS brace on June 3, he may have found some much-needed confidence to help spur Orlando further up the standings.

–Field Level Media

Atlanta United and D.C. United meet Saturday night in what is shaping up as a potential first-round playoff preview.

With both Atlanta (6-4-7, 25 points) and D.C. (6-6-5, 23 points) at the midway point of the season, the teams are fifth and seventh in the Eastern Conference standings, with the top nine to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs.

That represents a substantial improvement for both from 2022, when each missed out on the postseason. In particular, D.C. finished last in the East after a miserable start of the campaign that resulted in the firing of former boss Hernan Losada and eventually the appointment of current manager Wayne Rooney.

Rooney’s Black-and-Red enter Saturday’s clash only four points shy of their entire haul from the previous season, though he thinks they perhaps should be even higher.

“I think we’ve done OK,” Rooney said this week. “I think we obviously are where we are, which from the points we’ve picked up, is in the playoff spots, which is good from that point of view. But I really believe that we could certainly have six to nine more points.”

Perhaps Atlanta United also have a similar belief during a campaign in which they’ve been hamstrung by a poor defensive record.

The Five Stripes’ 28 goals conceded is the second-most in the East, behind only Charlotte (30).

But they became the first team on the MLS schedule this season to hold LAFC scoreless at home after eight saves from Brad Guzan in Wednesday night’s scoreless draw. The veteran former U.S. national team goalkeeper had come under fire recently for his play in a 3-3 home draw to the New England Revolution on May 31.

“I understand at times there is criticism to goalkeepers because one mistake and they are killed, but today was a great response by Brad,” Atlanta manager Gonzalo Pineda said after the match. “We know this is the level that he can give us and I’m just happy that he had that performance today.”

Saturday could also feature two golden boot contenders, with Atlanta’s Giorgos Giakoumakis at nine goals and D.C.’s Christian Benteke sitting on eight, two shy of the MLS lead.

Benteke scored his last time out in a 2-1 win at 10-man Inter Miami last weekend. Giakoumakis last scored in the New England draw.

–Field Level Media

With star midfielder Emanuel Reynoso back in the fold, Minnesota United will try for its third consecutive road win over CF Montreal on Saturday night.

The Loons (5-6-5, 20 points) are 3-0-0 all-time against Montreal, including 3-2 road victories in 2017 and 2019. Minnesota has never won three straight road matches against an opponent in its MLS history.

The timing probably couldn’t be better for Adrian Heath’s well-rested squad, which comes in off a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC on Saturday in Saint Paul, Minn.

Reynoso — one of the league’s top playmakers and an MLS All-Star in 2022 who was suspended for the first 11 games of the season for failure to report for training camp — made his season debut in the 65th minute against Toronto. It was his crossing pass to Kervin Arriaga that help set up the tying score in the 89th minute.

“Rey is one of our best players, and he showed that (Saturday night),” Heath said. “He gave everybody a lift. He gave the crowd a lift. His quality was great in the box.”

Heath is still monitoring Reynoso’s minutes as he builds up his fitness.

“He’s still got a long way to go, but I think we saw glimpses of his quality,” the coach said.

Montreal (6-9-1, 19 points), which has won seven of its last eight home games, could be at a scheduling disadvantage after playing at Vancouver on Wednesday night in the Canadian Championship final and losing an emotional 2-1 contest to the Whitecaps. Vancouver qualified for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions League with the win.

Montreal fell behind 2-0 in the first 65 minutes of the contest, cut it to 2-1 in the 83rd minute on a goal by Sunusi Ibrahim and was pressing until the final whistle. Goaltender Jonathan Sirois made several acrobatic saves to keep Montreal — outshot 20-9 overall and 9-5 in shots on target — in the game.

“We really gave it our all,” Montreal coach Hernan Losada said. “It’s a beautiful experience for so many young players on our roster. To be part of a game like that, well not many players have the opportunity to play in a final.”

–Field Level Media

Reigning MVP Hany Mukhtar and red-hot Nashville SC will aim to stretch their unbeaten streak to nine matches when they visit Toronto FC on Saturday night.

Mukhtar has eight goals and four assists during the stretch in which Nashville has gone 6-0-2, including wins in its last four matches.

Nashville (9-3-4, 31 points) resides in second place in the Eastern Conference and has outscored its opponents 17-7 during the stretch.

Mukhtar scored the winning goal in the 77th minute of last Saturday’s 2-1 road win over FC Dallas. Dan Lovitz set up the goal.

“It’s a brilliant goal from Hany,” Lovitz said afterward. “We are seeing it very consistently. … I just see it so often but it is not something we take for granted. It is just a pleasure to play with him and we just have to keep continuing to put him in good spots where he can be a threat and be really devastating to the other team.”

The goal was the 10th of the season for Mukhtar, tying him for the league lead. He has reached double digits for the third straight campaign. He scored 16 in 2021 and set a career high last season when he led MLS with 23.

Nashville has allowed just 11 goals, second-fewest in the league, entering its second matchup of the season against Toronto FC (3-5-9, 18 points). The teams played to a scoreless tie on April 8 in Nashville.

Toronto is unbeaten in its last three matches (1-0-2) and is a solid 3-1-5 at home this season. It played Minnesota United to a 1-1 road tie last Saturday.

The club knows it will be a challenging matchup against Nashville.

“They’re on a great run. They’ve been one of the better teams in the league,” Toronto defender Aime Mabika said. “Really good players, they have the reigning MVP. They have really good players, but so do we. We expect a really good game, we’re at home.”

Lorenzo Insigne scored Toronto’s goal against Minnesota.

Both teams had players called up for upcoming national team duty. Toronto defender Richie Laryea and midfielder Jonathan Osorio were called up by Canada, while goalkeepers Sean Johnson (United States) and Tomas Romero (El Salavdor) also were recalled.

For Nashville, defender Walker Zimmerman (United States) and midfielder Anibal Godoy (Panama) were recalled.

The teams have met six previous times. Nashville and Toronto have each won twice with the other two matches ending in ties.

–Field Level Media

The New England Revolution will seek their first win in more than a month when they host reeling Inter Miami CF on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.

The Revolution (7-3-6, 27 points), who haven’t won since a 2-0 victory over Toronto FC on May 6, are coming off a 0-0 draw against the host New York City FC last Saturday.

Djordje Petrovic saw 17 shots and stopped all five that were on target to record his six shutout of the season and his 13th in the past two seasons. New England put two shots on goal all game.

“He was steady throughout the game with good distribution, and it was good to get a clean sheet again,” Revolution coach Bruce Arena said. “Djordje has been punished by some poor defending in front of him the last couple of games, so it was good to see him get a clean sheet.”

It was New England’s third straight draw in a span of eight days and dropped the Revs to fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Revolution have been struggling since seeing their eight-game unbeaten streak end with a loss to host Inter Miami in the teams’ first meeting on May 13.

After David Ruiz gave Miami a 1-0 lead, New England’s Carles Gil tied the game in the 26th minute before Josef Martinez’s strike in the 44th minute proved to be the difference.

Miami has been in a tailspin since that game, having dropped its past five league games and getting outscored 9-3 in those matches.

The Herons (5-11-0, 15 points), who are last in the 15-team Eastern Conference, are making much bigger news off the field. Megastar Lionel Messi, who captained the Argentine national team to a World Cup title this past fall, announced he plans to sign with Miami after leaving French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain.

Messi is expected to join The Herons in July once the deal is finalized.

Miami is coming off a 1-0 win over Birmingham Legion FC, a second-tier professional team, in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday. It was the Herons’ second game and first win under interim coach Javier Morales, who took over for the fired Phil Neville last week.

“This win is very important, not just for us as a team, but for the whole organization,” Morales said. “We made history today — it’s the first time that the team made the semifinals.”

But in their most recent MLS game, the Herons surrendered two goals in the final 20-plus minutes in a 2-1 loss to visiting D.C. United last Saturday.

Ian Fray’s goal in the second minute of stoppage time prevented Inter Miami CF from being blanked for the third straight MLS game.

–Field Level Media

Los Angeles Galaxy forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez will miss the remainder of the MLS season after sustaining a torn ACL in his right knee.

Hernandez, 35, was injured while receiving a pass from Riqui Puig in the 24th minute of the club’s 3-2 setback to Real Salt Lake in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match on Wednesday. Hernandez will undergo surgery on a date to be determined, the Galaxy announced Friday.

He has recorded one goal and one assist through nine league games (seven starts) this season. He missed Los Angeles’ first five matches while recovering from a hamstring injury.

Hernandez led the Galaxy last season with 18 goals in 32 regular-season games and had a pair of assists. The Mexican national team star has 38 goals and six assists in 74 matches (65 starts) since joining Los Angeles in 2020.

–Field Level Media

The Columbus Crew acquired Ukrainian defender Yevhen Cheberko from Croatian club NK Osijek.

The deal announced Friday begins when the MLS secondary transfer window opens on July 5 and runs through 2026.

Cheberko, 25, will occupy an international roster slot.

“Yevhen is a talented player with a high ceiling who will help solidify the core of our backline and provide more tactical flexibility,” Crew president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said in a news release. “Yevhen has a nice balance of defensive and offensive attributes in his game and will be a welcomed addition during the summer transfer window.”

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The Columbus Crew have signed center back Yevhen Cheberko from NK Osijek.#Crew96 | #VamosColumbushttps://t.co/PoD7iQqlSQ

— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) June 9, 2023

Cheberko appeared in 58 matches with NK Osijek in Croatia’s first division from 2021-23. He made his pro debut with Ukraine’s Dnipro (2015-17) and also played with Zorya Luhansk (2017-20) in his native country before joining Austria’s LASK in 2020.

–Field Level Media